Calculation of a medical image using templates

Abstract

A data processing method for calculating a medical display image to be displayed on a display device, comprising the steps of acquiring at least one image dataset representing a medical image of a patient, acquiring a patient-specific information dataset representing patient-specific information and calculating the display image from the at least one image dataset on the basis of a template, the template being selected from a plurality of templates in accordance with the acquired patient-specific information.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A data processing method for calculating a medical display image to be displayed on a display device that has a first dynamic range, comprising:
 acquiring at least one image dataset representing a medical image of an associated patient, the at least one image dataset having a second dynamic range, the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset being greater than the first dynamic range of the display device, and the at least one image dataset depicting an object of a particular type within the associated patient; 
 acquiring a patient-specific information dataset representing patient-specific information; 
 automatically selecting a template from a plurality of templates in accordance with the acquired patient-specific information, the template being a dataset comprising settings and/or rules for calculating the display image from the at least one image dataset, the template comprising settings and/or rules for windowing parameters, the windowing parameters being a window representing a range of interest of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset, and the range of interest being a sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset depending on the particular type of the object depicted by the medical image; and 
 calculating the display image to be displayed on the display device in the first dynamic range of the display device from the at least one image dataset on the basis of the template, the calculating the display image comprising an uncompressed mapping of the sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset to the first dynamic range of the display device based on the windowing parameters, 
 wherein the patient-specific information comprises information on at least one of a medical indication, a prior treatment, a prior disease, a planned treatment, a following treatment step, and an applied contrast agent. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the medical indication is represented by a type or a category of a disease of the associated patient, wherein the disease is a tumor. 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein calculating the display image further comprises highlighting the contour of the tumor in the display image. 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein when the image dataset represents a three-dimensional medical image, the calculating the display image further comprises selecting a sectional plane in accordance with the template. 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein when a plurality of image datasets have been acquired, the calculating the display image further comprises selecting at least one of the image datasets in accordance with the template for the calculating the display image. 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the calculating the display image further comprises selecting at least one of a zoom factor and a cut-out in accordance with the template. 
     
     
       7. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising acquiring a lookup table comprising a plurality of lookup table patient-specific information datasets and of assigning one of the plurality of the templates to each of the lookup table patient-specific information datasets, wherein the template used for the calculating the display image is selected using the lookup table. 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 7 , wherein selecting the template comprises calculating distance measures between the acquired patient-specific information dataset and each of the lookup table patient-specific information datasets, determining the lookup table patient-specific information dataset with the lowest distance measure and selecting the template associated with this lookup table patient-specific information dataset. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis-specific information comprises information on at least one of a landmark, a functional area, the associated patient's anatomy, a therapy, a trajectory, and an access plan. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising providing the display image to a portable electronic display device. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising linking the display image to a calendar entry in the portable electronic display device and displaying the display image on the portable electronic display device when the calendar entry is opened. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising acquiring two image datasets, wherein one image dataset is a computed tomography image dataset and one image dataset is a magnetic resonance image dataset. 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the template further comprises rules and/or settings for highlighting a contour of a tumor from the at least one image dataset. 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the template further comprises rules and/or settings for selecting a sectional plane from the at least one image dataset. 
     
     
       15. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the template further comprises rules and/or settings for selecting at least one of a zoom factor or a cut-out from the at least one image dataset. 
     
     
       16. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the template further comprises rules and/or settings for adding diagnosis-specific information to the display image. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the windowing parameters comprises a plurality of windows of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset, and the calculating the display image comprises individually adapting each of the plurality of windows of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset to the first dynamic range of the display device. 
 
     
     
       18. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the particular type of the object is a bone, an organ, or a tumor. 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory computer readable storage device storing a program for calculating a medical display image to be displayed on a display device that has a first dynamic range, which, when executed by an associated computer or loaded by an associated computer, causes the associated computer to:
 acquire at least one image dataset representing a medical image of an associated patient, the at least one image dataset having a second dynamic range, the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset being greater than the first dynamic range of the display device, and the at least one image dataset depicting an object of a particular type within the associated patient; 
 acquire a patient-specific information dataset representing patient-specific information; 
 automatically select a template from a plurality of templates in accordance with the acquired patient-specific information, the template being a dataset comprising settings and/or rules for calculating a display image from the at least one image dataset, the template comprising settings and/or rules for windowing parameters, the windowing parameters being a window representing a range of interest of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset, and the range of interest being a sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset depending on the particular type of the object depicted by the medical image; and 
 calculate the display image to be displayed on the display device in the first dynamic range of the display device from the at least one image dataset on the basis of the template, the calculating the display image comprising an uncompressed mapping of the sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset to the first dynamic range of the display device based on the windowing parameters, 
 wherein the patient-specific information comprises information on at least one of a medical indication, a prior treatment, a prior disease, a planned treatment, a following treatment step, and an applied contrast agent. 
 
     
     
       20. A device for calculating a medical display image to be displayed on a display device having a first dynamic range, the device comprising a processor for causing the device to:
 acquire at least one image dataset representing a medical image of a patient, the at least one image dataset having a second dynamic range, the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset being greater than the first dynamic range of the display device, and the at least one image dataset depicting an object of a particular type within the associated patient; 
 acquire a patient-specific information dataset representing patient-specific information; 
 automatically select a template from a plurality of templates in accordance with the acquired patient-specific information, the template being a dataset comprising settings and/or rules for calculating a display image from the at least one image dataset, the template comprising settings and/or rules for windowing parameters, the windowing parameters being a window representing a range of interest of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset, and the range of interest being a sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset depending on the particular type of the object depicted by the medical image; and 
 calculate the display image to be displayed on the display device in the first dynamic range of the display device from the at least one image dataset on the basis of the template, the calculating the display image comprising an uncompressed mapping of the sub-range of the second dynamic range of the at least one image dataset to the first dynamic range of the display device based on the windowing parameters, 
 wherein the patient-specific information comprises information on at least one of a medical indication, a prior treatment, a prior disease, a planned treatment, a following treatment step, and an applied contrast agent.